Essays on Writing Craft and Mindset
by Maggie Frank-Hsu
Some days we're not just trudging toward bedtime
I’ve started to rest instead of push through. I don’t know if it’s my age (a “young 39,” as someone said to me yesterday??) , hormones, or something else, but my body doesn’t do things just because my mind tells it to anymore. My body is in revolt against my hyperactive mind. I’ve heard the “oxygen mask” analogy dozens of times and I’ve written about it myself.
Maybe we don’t need more empathy
We assume we all see the world in the same way. But we don’t. Let me start again. I assume. I assume we all see the world in the same way. When I say, “see the world,” I’m speaking quite literally. For instance. I read this blog post yesterday. “Today I have learned that not everyone has an internal monologue and it has ruined my day.” Apparently, not all people think in words and sentences.
A Tribute to a Man I Never Met
Last week I talked about maintenance writing. (ICYMI, I compared writing to sex, so go look that one up in your inbox or read it on my LinkedIn ?.) Anyway, my point was that we are not going to write a heartbreaking work of staggering genius every time we put fingers to keyboard. We are not even going to write something particularly good every time. But we are going to write something.
In praise of maintenance...
In praise of maintenance sex. (I was too chicken to put “sex” in the headline.) Anyway, hello! I’m talking maintenance sex today.
When you write like an expert, you sound like the opposite of an expert.
I’m not an expert in this topic and therefore I can’t write about it for my business’s social media.” I love this statement because it seems really reasonable. Like… “Who, li’l ole amateur me? No… leave this topic to all those experts ‘out there.’ They’re obviously loads more qualified, so they’ll do a better job!” Yet it’s not reasonable. It’s wrong. Ass-backwards.
What do we deserve?
This week is the fourth anniversary of David Bowie’s death. David Bowie was the first celebrity who pierced my consciousness who seemed to be doing exactly whatever the eff he wanted. I miss him. Anyway. Bowie. ---> Changes. ---> The new year. It all got me thinking.
Actually, I CAN sum up what I learned in the 2010s in one sentence.
That’s 2019. The key that allows failures to happen without shame. The key that allows for gratitude and appreciation of all that I have and everyone who supported me this year. The key that allowed me to think bigger. That. Is. It.
The power in realizing - without rushing to fix
Coming to you from inside the holidays… Over the past few years, I played the same mental game with the holidays that I used to play with motherhood, and with adulthood in general. I.e.: I started out by trying to force myself to do the holidays “right.” But no matter what I do, they just don’t feel all that right. Because of social media I’ve discovered I’m not alone in my discomfort.
Remember when people used to smoke cigarettes?
I'm reading Motivational Interviewing. It’s a psychology textbook my husband kept telling me about. I just started reading it yesterday and btw I have no training in psychology. If you can accept those caveats, I will share some nuggets with you. Because this textbook is the juiciest, nuggetiest textbook I’ve ever read.
My Wish For You in 2020
In 2020, I hope you don't create a content calendar for your business. Creating a content calendar is a swell way to do a few lousy things. Maybe you love nice and neat content grids. But you know what else is a nice and neat grid?